The pilot of a single engine fixed wing airplane was killed Sunday evening when his plane crashed near Dover.

At around 7:10 p.m., Sunday, emergency crews were dispatched to search for a plane that went missing near the Dover/Little Creek area. The piper plane vanished off radar after an emergency call was placed to the control tower on Dover Air Force Base, a Delaware State Police spokesman said.

Several emergency response agencies conducted grid searches in the area of Bayside Drive (Delaware Route 9) and North Little Creek Road (Delaware Route 8). Agencies assisting in the search included Delaware State Police, DNREC Fish and Wildlife Division and firefighters from Camden, Cheswold, Dover, Frederica, Hartly, Leipsic and Little Creek.

Members of the Little Creek Volunteer Fire Company located the wreckage of a small aircraft believed to be the missing plane at around 9:35 p.m. Sunday night.

Authorities have not yet identified the pilot of the plane.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration were headed to the scene as of 10:30 p.m. to investigate the crash.